Jamestown’s status as a federal entitlement community shows the depth of need in many pockets of our community.

So it can be frustrating – for both city residents and those who administer the federal Community Development Block Grant and HOME programs – to see money sitting around gathering dust and a little bit of interest but not being used to improve housing stock in Jamestown.

It’s good to see Crystal Surdyk try to use some of those small dollar amounts the city has had waiting to be used for other programs to extend an American Rescue Plan Act program that has proven to be pretty popular with city residents. The Housing Repair Mini Grant program was funded with ARPA funding in 2023 and 2024 to help qualifying city residents with up to $2,500 worth of repairs to their homes. ARPA funding is nearly gone, but the need for housing repair mini grants is not.

Surdyk proposed reallocating about $52,700 from other programs to continue funding the Housing Repair Mini Grant program, with the city providing up to $4,500 to homeowners who qualify. City Council members recently approved a request to the federal Housing and Urban Development Department to allow the city to reprogram the federal money.

As a society we are trying to encourage senior citizens to age in their homes. Helping those senior citizens pay for small home repairs that can help them do just that makes a ton of sense. The city has also said often over the years that it wants to encourage first-time homebuyers. Given the age of our housing stock it makes sense to help those first-time homebuyers with help when, not if, an unexpected small home repair pops up. And, frankly, the mini grants can help those who find it hard to save at a time when the cost of living is increasing.

The housing mini grants have helped hundreds of city residents with small repairs. Keeping it around a while longer makes a lot of sense if it comes at the expense of programs that have either outlived their usefulness or don’t have enough money left in their allocation to do much. If the need for housing repair mini grants remains high after this additional funding runs out the city should consider making it a regular recipient of CDBG funds until the need runs out.